Swanson Ranch Number 2 Airport

While no single official reason is documented, the closure is typical for private agricultural airstrips. The most probable reasons are economic and logistical, including the sale of the ranch, the owner ceasing flying operations, the high cost of maintenance and insurance, or the decision to convert the land to more profitable agricultural use.

The airport is permanently closed and no longer exists as a functional aviation facility. Analysis of current satellite imagery shows that the entire area, including the former runway, has been converted into a productive agricultural orchard. The faint outline of the runway is still slightly visible from the air due to soil compaction, but the land is now covered with rows of trees and is completely unusable for aircraft.

Swanson Ranch Number 2 Airport (also known by the FAA identifier 8CL1) was a private airfield established between 1965 and 1969. Its primary purpose was to support the large-scale agricultural operations of the Swanson Ranch in California's Central Valley. The airport featured a single, 2,600-foot unpaved north/south runway. Operations would have primarily consisted of agricultural aircraft (crop dusters) for spraying crops, as well as potential use for the personal transportation of the ranch owners and staff. Its significance was purely local, serving as a vital tool for the efficiency of the farm it supported.

The prospects for reopening are virtually non-existent. The land has been fully and permanently repurposed for high-value agriculture. Re-establishing an airport would require clearing the existing orchard and significant investment, for which there is no apparent economic or logistical demand. The site will almost certainly remain in its current agricultural state.